Tomb Raider: Fletcher's Funeral
by elizard9594
Summary: This story starts directly after underworld and follows Lara's quest to find a way to bring back her one true love - Alister Fletcher. LCXAF please read
1. Every Step of The Way

**Tomb Raider: Fletcher's Funeral**

**Chapter 1**

Lara Croft walked gracefully down the long hallway dressed in what was probably the most conservative outfit she'd worn in years.

It was also the first she'd worn without any weaponry on her person; no pistols, no knives, no grenades, nothing.

The outfit was a simple black dress -considerably close to the one she'd worn to Japan for her meeting with Takamoto, albeit not ripped or so low cut- paired with a pair of small heels and a black hat with a floppy rim.

She had considered leaving the hat off, until she'd had a good look in the mirror.

After seeing the tear streaks down her face, the disheveled state her hair was in, the dark bags under her eyes, and the red and puffiness around her eyes, she'd thrown the hat on because the floppy rim sent a shadow over her face, hiding most of the flaws mentioned above, or at least making them seem less severe.

After also seeing the bruises on her fists from days of slamming her fists into walls, bookcases, shelves, and many other immovable objects of sorts, she had added a pair of black silk elbow-length gloves to match.

Now Lara walked herself down the hallway of the freshly restored Croft manor, in all its splendor and glory, with about 6 or 7 papers clutched in her left hand, on her way to the saddest event she had probably ever attended -the funeral of her beloved Alister Fletcher, her best friend, her one true love.

Lara felt hot tears well up in her eyes, one spilling over her eyelash and making a small wet trail down her cheek before falling into the air, disappearing forever into the unknown. _Just like Alister. _

Lara thought bitterly, resisting the urge to release the rest of the tears in her eyes.

It didn't work. Lara thought before mentally kicking herself for letting her mind stray to him again.

"It's okay, you know." A familiar voice said behind her.

She turned around, reaching for her pistols, but when she got to her thighs, she realized that she wasn't wearing them for once in her life. She was relieved when she came face-to-face with Zip.

"To be sad about him, I mean. It's okay to be broken up about his death. We all are, Lara. You don't have to hide it." He tried to console her.

"I haven't slept in days, Zip. You can't just go sneaking up on a lady who is sleep-deprived like that. It may frighten her, you know." Lara simply replied, turning to walk back in the direction she was headed before the scare with Zip.

She hardened her face, attempting unsuccessfully to stop more tears from running down her face. She was amazed that she even had any more tears left to cry.

She thought that after the night in the library searching through everything that was in the bookcases infinite information, trying to find even a trace of a way to find something that could help her find him, she thought that she'd be out of tears after then. She'd found only one book with anything that might be of help.

It was a small, leather-bound ancient tome that she thought looked promising after the first page.

The first page had explained that souls that were taken in vain without serving any sort of purpose could be resurrected by a certain process that was very extensive, but that every soul was different, and therefore, would require a different process.

Lara remembered how she was filled with hope at the thought of bringing Alister back. But when she had turned the page, it held only two sentences;

_**This book can only be used once, make your choice wisely.**_

_**You'll know what to do when the time comes.**_

At finding the rest of the book blank, Lara had screamed and thrown punches at the bookcases and furniture, thrown books, and cried; cried until there were no more tears and then cried some more until things had just faded away.

She had woken up with a pillow under head and a blanket covering her, clutching the book with a hand-written note from Zip and Winston next to her head.

Zip had written:

_**Hey Lara,**_

_**I know you're really beat up about the recent events, but you have to find something to do to help you. **_

_**He wouldn't have wanted you to be living in misery. **_

_**We're really worried about you Lara. **_

_**When we came in here, you had fallen asleep, but was muttering things and screaming in your sleep. **_

_**We left the pillow and blanket. **_

_**Hope it helped. **_

_**We couldn't get you to let go of the book. **_

_**Hope you feel better soon,**_

_**~Zip~**_

Winston had left something along the same lines, but more simple:

_**Lady Croft,**_

_**We hope you learn that death does not always bring darkness forever along with it; eventually the rays of silver sunshine will smile upon your face again.**_

_**~Winston~**_

Lara had both those notes stashed away in her diary in her bedroom.

She had used to frequent the pages of her diary often, scribbling notes about her wondrous adventures, but now, after the tragic loss of Alister, the entries became fewer and fewer as her time filled up with finding out how the forsaken book worked. Lara had now reached the door to the garden outside.

The garden where; on Lara's expansive English side property, Alister Fletcher's funeral would take place.

Lara lowered her head as she stopped in front of the door, pressing one hand to the smooth, cold, mahogany wood.

"I cant do it, Zip." she announced to her colleague, who had been walking alongside her quietly the entire time.

A tear rolled wistfully down her cheek, dropping off onto the cold stone floor somewhere. "I can't say goodbye to him."

Zip just exhaled softly and came up behind her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, taking her face in his other hand and lifting it up. "Then we'll do it together. I'll be there with you every step of the way."

Lara half-smiled through her tears and nodded. She put her other hand on the door, and pushed it open, striding out into the blinding sun, Zip by her side, fulfilling his promise;

Every step of the way…

**Hope You all liked it, If I get some good reviews, then ill continue it. It leads to my Back From Avalon series. But I'd like for some Read & Reviews first before continuing. **

**3 Elizard_9594**


	2. Riddles

Lara took her place next to the freshly dug grave, and recited the speech that she'd repeated like a mantra over and over again until it was memorized, embedded into her brain for all of eternity.

"Alister Fletcher was a friend to many, kind to all, and held dear in the hearts of a select lucky few," she began.

"He was a great man, with not a single drop of hatred in his pure body, and in this time of loss, I grieve his death like that of a thousand fatal wounds directed upon my body."

She looked around at the puffy eyed, reddened faces around her. She saw many a friend who had come to support her in this time, but one certain person caught her eye.

This lady had her hair down, framing her face, and no tears had stung her eyes, nothing had smudged the meticulously applied black eyeliner that rimmed her aquamarine eyes.

Lara's eyes locked with the woman's, and she said the next part of her speech staring at her, "I know what it's like to lose people - I've had more than my share of losses. Alister wasn't meant to die, not like this, not now. But as the hands of time and the arms of fate shape our destiny, sometimes we're meant to forgive and renew what we once had with those that have scorned us."

Lara averted her eyes to Zip, and continued on, "I would have loved to have been able to say goodbye to Alister, but instead I say hello. Hello to a new life, Hello to continuings on, Hello to a celebration of the life that was my very best friend - Alister Fletcher's."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After the funeral was over, Lara walked back to the mansion slowly, determined to not shed any tears at the moment. She had business to do; she had to figure out how to work that book.

Lara spun around on her heel when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She whipped around to stare into the eyeliner rimmed aquamarine eyes of none other than Amanda Evertt; the woman who hadn't shed a single tear at Alister's funeral.

"What do you want?" Lara snapped. Amanda flinched at the harsh words.

"I want to help you." the words came softly from her red lipsticked mouth. Lara blinked, having had to imagined the whole scenario.

"You what?" she questioned.

"Oh, don't play stupid Lara. You're way too smart for all that." Amanda chided, "I got the whole idea of your speech out there. You really loved him didn't you?"

Lara nodded and replied, "Yes, but I don't see how that has any relation to you wanting to assist me."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Let's go find somewhere to sit down, shall we?"

The pair made their way into the foyer and sat down, Lara asking Winston to bring them tea.

Lara then turned to Amanda, who was standing behind the chair, picking at her black manicured thumbnail, randomly chipping the paint off the edge. "Now you explain what this is all about."

Amanda sighed, saying, "Well it was the 'I say hello' part of your speech that originally tipped me off, but then I got to thinking and I've figured it out."

Lara nodded and pursed her lips, "And what have you figured out exactly?"

Amanda trailed her hand along the arm of the chair as she walked around it, "Simple," she flopped down on the loveseat and leaned back, propping her feet up on the coffee table, "You want to bring him back."

Lara wrinkled her nose, and then sighed, running a hand through her hair, "Yeah, I do."

Amanda smiled sadly, "I thought so, and since I feel partly responsible for his death, I figured I'd lend a hand to your assistance. You know, pay my dues."

"And how do I know you're not going to double cross me and leave me for dead?" Lara asked dubiously.

Amanda got a hurt look on her face, "I grabbed your hand." she answered simply.

**(AN: this is a reference to the final cut scene of TRU. If you don't understand, get on you tube and watch it. Then come back and read this. It'll help a lot) **

Lara inhaled deeply, not believing what she was about to do. "Okay," she said finally, "You're in."

Amanda perked up at Lara's acceptance, "Okay. Now, what have we got so far?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

An hour later, and both Amanda and Lara were trying to figure out solutions to the book.

"Maybe," Amanda piped from where she was sitting, leaning back against a bookcase, "It has a secret message written in it somewhere that's only revealed by some kind of special light."

"Like a blacklight or something?" Lara said accusingly, "I'm sorry Amanda, but I don't think the ancients would hide their secret to recovering the dead in some little purple light bulb that people use-" she was cut off by Amanda.

"I was thinking something a little more…complicated." Amanda gestured to her wraith stone.

Lara, nodded, letting out a 'mmhmm" sound as she did so. "It just might work."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lara and Amanda stood out on the grounds of Croft manor, Lara holding the book open in her hands and Amanda standing about 5 foot from her.

"You ready?" Amanda nodded towards the book.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Lara muttered just loud enough so that Amanda could hear, then nodded.

Amanda grabbed her wraith stone between her thumb and index finger, concentrating hard until her eyes rolled back into her head, only the whites showing in the rising dusk. There was a bright flash of light, and then, as Lara stared at the book, a flame danced across the page, forming words written in some language.

She stared at the markings that the flame was swirling across the page to write in an ashy color for a long moment before realizing that the glyphs were Latin.

Written clearly across the page was a riddle:

_**ego velieris inter lux lucis of dies , tantum ostendo sum myself in spatium ut nox noctis interdum ego dont ostendo meus visio procul totus.**_


	3. Luna

Lara ran her fingers over the words, then set the book down and ran over to the now back to herself Amanda, who had fallen to her knees and was breathing heavily.

Lara kneeled down beside her, and asked concernedly, "Are you okay?"

Amanda waved her off as she caught her breath, "Yeah, fine. Just a little out of practice." She took a breath, finally slowing down to normal breathing rate, then she brightened, "Hey, did it work?" she asked excitedly, as if this were some game that they'd invented as little kids.

"Yeah," Lara said, "It wrote in Latin across the page, a riddle of some sort."

Amanda gave her a little shove, her white-blonde hair flopping into her eyes a little bit, "Then go get it. You'll have to read it to me though, I haven't read Latin since we were in college." She flopped back onto the grass, sitting on her feet as Lara retrieved the leather bound tome and returned.

"What's it say?" she asked Lara, who was staring at the words, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Lara read the Latin words fluently, "I hide among light of day, only show when to emerge myself over, upon interval when night sometimes I don't show my likeness far whole."

Amanda stared in disbelief, "Can you turn that into non-Shakespearian language?"

Lara rolled her eyes at Amanda, "It says; 'I hide among the light of day' meaning whatever it is doesn't come out during the day, but hides." She looked at Amanda who nodded. Then continued, "the next verse is, 'only show when to emerge myself over', meaning, 'only coming out' generally. Then 'upon interval when night' meaning 'in intervals at night' and finally," she gestured to the last verse, "'Sometimes I don't show my likeness whole' meaning, 'sometimes I don't show my face at all' There. You happy?" she asked Amanda.

Amanda relayed the verses in her head, trying to make sense of them.

She said them aloud, hoping it'd help, "I hide during the day, only coming out in intervals at night, sometimes I don't come out at all…"

she wrinkled her forehead in puzzlement, then shook her head. "I got nothing." she said.

Lara shook hers as well. "Maybe Zip will come up with something. He can use his internet knowledge for this."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Zip typed the ideas into the computer and then, when it came up with nothing, spun in his swivel chair to face the girls. "there's good news and bad news, which do you want first."

Lara looked at Amanda, expecting her to answer for the both of them.

Amanda snorted, then said, "Well, it's only logical to take the bad news first, so hit us."

Zip replied, "The internet fails us. Its got as much of a clue as you two."

After a quiet moment, Lara piped up, "and what about the good news?"

"The good news is that I'm smart. And you're lucky to have me." Zip said cockily.

Amanda threw her stupid face on, "Meaning…?" she urged.

"I figured it out. You guys were just thinking too hard, overlooking the answer in plain sight."

Lara gasped, "You figured it out?"

Zip just nodded.

Amanda continued, "Well what is it?" she asked impatiently.

Zip just shrugged and propped his feet up on the tech room's glass tabletop.

"It's the moon." he said as if made perfect sense. "Hides during the day, comes out at night in intervals -or cycles- and sometimes doesn't come out at all, also known as a new moon." he explained.

Lara and Amanda's jaws were both practically on the floor. Of course in their search through their brains, they would have skipped the obvious answer.

But now the question was, what did they do even if the answer was the moon?


End file.
